Ian infects another film

The second entry in the Ian Video Collection is Pawn Shop Chronicles, in stores now. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elijah Wood, Paul Walker and Ashlee Simpson. It's a very dark comedy with lots of gore, nudity and dark hilarity. As such films tend to be, it's very polarizing with the critics. Much of that criticism hinges on its similarity to the style of Quentin Tarantino — it's described by more than one reviewer as "a redneck Pulp Fiction."

Personally, it's one of my favorite films of mine that I've seen so far. And I'm not that big a fan of QT (though much of that is due to the man himself, so that works in this film's favor). The scene where the two methed-up white supremacists concede that they like blacks and Jews ("If I saw Jerry Springer, I would kiss his ass ... I have three Adam Sandler DVDs ... We worship the King of the Jews!") is alone worth the price of admission.

This movie shouldn't have been direct-to-DVD. On the other hand, maybe it is destined to be a cult film. I don't know. I'm the kind of guy who tends to like the flavor of chips they pull from the shelves due to lack of demand. I'm also heavily biased toward most of my own movies. Though again, this one is pretty strong by itself. And you can trust my word, because I'm barely in any shots here. Take a look:

Can you find me in this crowd suddenly wooed by Brendan Fraser's soulful faux-Elvis crooning, brought to you by the Debbil? Probably not. I'm in the back on the left, with my arm piercing the sky. Two friends of mine are in the front row, with whom I've appeared in several films.

Blurry face time is still face time. Fun fact: the woman with whom I'm dancing was a teenage extra in Everybody's All-American (1988), in which my dad and uncle were also extras.

I'm next to Brendan's bicep in this shot. This frame perfectly epitomizes Fraser's character. At the time, the director seemed unsatisfied with his performance, but we thought it was amazing enough. (Get it? Because he's singing "Amazing Grace"? Oh, forgot to mention that.)

Here's a post I wrote a few days later that mentions the shoot. It took place in Port Allen, Louisiana, and lasted all night. I held a box of fake (but actually buttered) popcorn all night that you can't even see me holding. Ah, high-budget Hollywood!

Check this one out. But not while the kids are around, unless you're a cool parent.